Many players cheered as they saw the notification appear in front of their HUDs while watching the fight on their holographic screens. Some were amazed to see their favorites defeating their opponents upon landing in their starting points, while a few groaned to see them eliminated by other players. However, the one fight they were most shocked by was when they saw a player named
It wasn't until two pings broke her shock as Venus turned to her chat window.
[Did we see a new OP player in [Isekai] already?]
Venus shook her head and took a deep breath. "No clue. But I know it's not an OP move. He just read that guy like a book and punt him out like T**m R*ck*t! He's definitely not a newbie when he can read your mind like that!"
PING!
"Thanks for the dono again, Zedi. And I have to agree with you. He didn't earn that notice for nothing," she commented. "This makes me give off some red flags with that guy. I can't say who he is out of privacy, but there's no way I can ignore his smart play moves."
While she was currently streaming in the cafe, Nelli was screeching outside in glee at the sight of Lunar's fight, while Lyco and Hiromi covered their ears as they were sitting right next to her.
"Wow! I can't believe it! Sure, it's RIP, cute swordie, but he managed to judo throw that guy like he was nothing!" Nelli squealed. "Are you sure he's not a new guy around here, Hiromi?"
Hiromi sheepishly chuckled. "If he were, we would have told you in the first place."
"Besides, that guy Lunar fought is mostly a newbie himself. If he wants to take the event seriously, he should have used his skills other than [Sword Mastery] to gain an advantage," Lyco added.
"Why not? I mean, you said players can only join this event if one of their combat [Masteries] is Level 15 or more. Is that enough for him to win?"
Lyco sighed. "[Masteries] are only half the battle, little Nelli. You can't rely on one [Mastery] to become the best. You need another to complement it, so you get an edge on your opponent. If you have [Magical Aptitude], you have an easier chance of casting your magic along with a boosted power. If you have [Physical Enhancement], then swinging a sword or axe will be a cinch even if you don't have formal training in real life. And if you have [Hunting], you can use its [Stealth] to ambush your targets with [Archery] or [Magic Artillery]. "
"Are you saying my [Light] and [Life Masteries] aren't enough?" Nelli pouted. "I'm much better with my [Tailoring] than being in a sweaty battlefield."
"Trust us. You can't buy materials from NPC shops forever, and you can't earn much money with looks alone," Hiromi responded. "Lunar went hell and back, and he managed to earn more than EXP out there."
"Much, much more than EXP and loot..." Hiromi quickly glances at her friend, causing Lyco to flinch. "I-I mean, you got his witness right here! He really worked his butt off defeating that [Mad Bear] with my help."
Nelli hums with a frown. "I don't know. I still prefer making clothes to fighting any day."
Hiromi sighed. "If only you read more about the game, then choose only 3 [Masteries]... Only then do you need to fight to get everything you want." She looked down at the floor as she frowned. "Just like me..."
"What the heck is this?! I can't believe what I'm seeing!"
Both friends and Nelli gasped to hear Venus's outburst from the cafe.
"Was that Venus just now?!" Lyco guessed. "She was streaming Lunar's first fight earlier."
Hiromi quickly turned to her sister. "Nelli, put up her feed right back up now!"
"Okay, okay! I was about to do that anyway!" She pulled up her menu and put up a player that had the said livestream. "No way... Lunar is in trouble!"
Lyco and Hiromi's eyes widened at this news before looking at the footage of their friend being pummeled by a warrior and mage duo.
"Fredrick not only stopped Lunar's infamous [Low Blow] greeting, but he disabled the Bear Slayer long enough for his partner, Waz finish him with his signature [Thunder Blade] finisher! Looks like it's already over for Lunar after his one win!"
"Cr*p! Those two are known for their successful runs with only two of them in
"No way! There's no way it's all over!" Nelli yelled. "Please tell me he can get out of this like with the last battle!"
"Easy for you to say. Those two already mastered the mechanics of their skills and equipment," Hiromi answered. "It's only a matter of time until..."
"Hang on, Romi!" Lyco interrupted while watching the feed. "It's too soon to call this fight out early. Look at his eyes." He pointed at the said body parts with his eyebrows leaning close, just when the spell was unleashed. "He hasn't shown any signs of fear when he was thrown away. Besides, I feel like he hasn't given up just yet."
[Present time]
"[Thunder Blade]!"
Waz swings his energy blade made of electricity protruding from his staff towards their flying opponent, and when it hits, it creates a large explosion around the trees and rocks behind Lunar. His partner, Fredrick, backs away to avoid the rubble while putting his axe up.
"I think that's all I can throw at him," Waz said as he put his staff down. "It will take 5-10 seconds to cast another, and this guy has already shown to be the fastest [Insignis] melee fighter compared to the others."
"But he still has his sh**ty physical defense," Fredrick reminded. "There's no way he can survive that attack after I threw an onslaught on him."
"Well, we just need to wait for the notif before we move on to ano- Huh?"
Fredrick raises his eyebrow. "What's wrong, partner?"
"It might be my [VeilCon], but I heard some sparkling noise behind us. Maybe we should move away a- ARGH!"
Before Fredrick could react, a clawed hand resembling a bear's paw grabbed Waz's face, and to their shock, they saw a grinning figure coming out of the leaves and bushes behind him.
"Are you kidding?! The slayer escaped from our combo attack?!" Fredrick exclaimed. "But how is it possible? There's no way you..."
But when he turns to where Lunar was supposed to go down, he notices charred remains of the bushes and trees that were left from the last attack.
"Hang on, I thought some [Thunder] spells cannot be exploded without another element. Don't tell me..."
Lunar didn't put down his smirk as if he silently confirms his suspicions.
Back in town, everyone began muttering, trying to wonder what they had just witnessed in the fight. As for Venus, she panickly taps several buttons on her livestream HUD as several pinging sounds overwhelm her audio.
[Hey, did their feed get glitched out for a second?]
[FOUL! FOUL! There's no way Lunar escaped that attack without any glitches!]
Venus groans in frustration. "I get you're confused, too. But I'm also trying to figure out what the hell we just saw?!" She eventually found a special control panel in her HUD. "Okay, I found the replay feature the devs provided for the co-streamers. Let's see if we can rewind a few seconds before his surprise attack."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
She rewinds the said footage and plays it once she finds it. In the footage, she sees Fredrick and Waz in the footage unleashing their attacks on Lunar. But the moment the [Thunder Blade] is about to hit him, Lunar starts muttering with his arms out. To her shock, she witnesses him summoning a [Fire Ball] towards the electric blade, causing both elements to explode and the [Insignis] fighter to be flung back into the bushes.
"Are you kidding me?! He not only fooled us with a fakeout defeat, but he managed to cheat death with an elemental reaction!" Venus exclaimed. "I'm shocked that he managed to survive that despite his critical health! This begs the question: Did he get the coveted [Risk Taker], too?!"
Damn... That was a close call. That reaction trick, along with my [Claw Grab], was my last resort, but I'm relieved and surprised it worked with me unscathed. If I didn't chant the [Fire Ball's] incantation on time, I wouldn't have been able to live that long in the arena. But now that I'm still here, it's time for me to strike back and deal with the pair's greatest strength, who is now right under my fingertips.
"D*mn... I didn't expect you to escape our grasp," the warrior muttered. "What makes you think you can win against both of us? We told you we saw all your tricks, and you already showed us your little escape trick."
Escape trick, yes. But those guys have no idea that I didn't earn the [Risk Taker] title for nothing. "True. But that's not the only trick I can do. Besides, I'm not done with your friend yet." I take a deep breath and begin reciting. “Spirits of flames, heed my call! Engulf me with flames to burn my enemies with my own hands!”
I take a quick glance at Waz, and I can tell from his widened eyes that he knew what I was about to do. "Fred, stop him! Before h-"
"[Burning Touch]."
I let my hand holding his face be enveloped in flames. This causes him to scream as I let him go before I watch him flail around and cover his burnt face. There's a high chance he may get the [Burn] condition thanks to my point-blank [Fire] spell, so I'll deal with him later.
"Waz!" The warrior that his partner nicknamed "Fred" calls out to him before turning to me. "D*mn... You're sick!"
I simply smirked back and said, "Hey, there's no rule against dirty tricks here and I'm doing everything to win here."
Even if I said that confidently, why do I have a feeling Fenrir is about to yell at me after this?
"Don't worry about me, Fred. Stop him before he recovers!" Waz responds. "That guy somehow has magical abilities like me!"
Looks like he found out about my little trick. I'd better end this before it's too late.
"Then I'll just have to stop him before he can finish his incantations, right? No problem!"
Well, it didn't take too long to figure out my weakness, too. Guess that warrior has more brains than his mage partner. I should take care of that guy first. Charging into him won't work, so I need to attack him in another way.
“Spirits of flames, show yourselves!" I yelled.
"I told you that won't work! [Axe Thrust]!"
"Erect the shield of..."
I notice his axe too late as he thrusts it into my lower body again. However, I quickly blocked the blunt end with my right foot.
"What?!"
I grin once I see my successful block. "Gotcha."
He's not the only one who has seen his tricks. Now that I have deflected his skill, I respond by releasing my foot and grabbing the whole axe with both arms. And just as I did so...
Perfect timing. This skill's cooldown will take about an hour, but I will take the price to deal with this duo early in the event. Using my critical buffs, I carry the axe along with its wielder and started tossing him around the same way I finish Ewa off in my last [Duel]. Then with a big throw, I watch him screaming before he smacks into a large tree above him and falls from the height of it. But I'm not done with him just yet. I quickly jump up and, using the leaves and branches as leverage, I'm now at the same height as I prepare my second-to-last attack with my [Burning Touch] still active.
"See ya. [Power Attack]!"
With one strong punch to his face, I launch him down to the ground and finish it off with two more basic punches to the gut. Thanks to my barrage of finishers, I managed to land back on the ground by using Fred's body as a cushion after he crashed into a crater that was created from the impact. Yet after all of that, his [HP] goes down to 13. As expected, he has some great [Masteries] and equipment to avoid being a glass cannon character. Still, I doubt he won't be well enough to get back up and turn things around.
"We were so close. I thought you're gonna make the beginner's mistake of not learning your lesson with that [Fire Wall] spell. Turns out, I end up falling for the good ol' bait-and-switch," Fred muttered. "We know your movements, but you managed to outsmart and outmaneuver us in the end. Don't tell me you're a secret pro gamer like us?"
"Nah. I'm just a normal player who knows most of the mechanics and features in the game." And the fact that I have my own blog series of guides at [Isekai Comm]. "But I have to admit. You put me on the edge of my seat with those moves. You even make me open my eyes to my shortcomings and help me learn from them. To be honest, you guys helped me than eliminating me from the event."
I suddenly heard Waz chuckling despite the burns on his face and said, "How odd... I heard most of the players are too competitive to know real sportsmanship. But you're the first player we met who thanks us rather than killing us immediately."
"Well, if you feel that way, we might thank you for that battle, too, kid," Fred spoke up. "You just helped me realize doing this build is a lot tougher than Barren's Axe Spins."
"Barren's Axe Spins"? I heard of that before...
"Barren? As in that Chamber of Champions MOBA game?" I almost squealed when I mentioned that game. "I played that a lot in an internet café with my friends in high school! That's the same mains that the jungler of Eclipse Warriors of the NA League is playing!"
"Eclipse Warriors, huh? You're a fan of them?"
I nodded. "Yeah! The support and jungler are my favs, and I never miss a livestream when your match is playing!"
But then, I begin connecting the dots together. Their names,
"Are you guys supposed to be the 'Wiz' and 'FriedWick' of Eclipse Warriors?! Those names sound so similar!"
"Well, we can't confirm or deny it. But just know that our pro gamer status has nothing to do with our participation in this event," Fredrick answered. "We just played this game last month, and we want to play as a way to take a break from CoC sometimes."
Whoa... So, even pro gamers have side games along with their main ones. Well, as their fan, I should be respectful of their privacy and avoid probing them any further.
"Wow... This is all too surreal for me. And at the same time, I feel bad about losing your chance in the arena event." I hung my head down. "I'm so sorry about that..."
"Hey, no apologies, kid. You did what you had to do and you managed to defeat us fair and square," Waz said. "Even if your way of 'fair' just burned my face."
I sheepishly chuckled. "Don't worry. It won't be permanent once you respawn back in
Waz chuckles. "Okay, thanks. No hard feelings here. I'm also impressed with your counter plan."
"Yep. So by the time we see again, we'll be supporting you in the spectators," Fred said with a salute. "You deserved our kills."
They're right. It feels weird chatting with my idols casually before I deal the killing blow in a VRMMO, but I'm glad some people acknowledged my efforts, unlike my tormentors. I feel like the event wants me to get over it. But I'm not done with them yet.
"Before I can do that..." I pull out my notebook that I often use to rip off for quick notes and letters. "Can I have your digital autographs to screenshot after the event? For me and my friends, if you like."
I'm trying my best to hide my blush from Fred and Waz. But to my relief, they respond with a chuckle.
"You might be the first player we know who didn't hesitate to ask for an autograph from your soon-to-be killed opponent," Fred laughed. "But why not? My right hand is still good here,"
"Same here. Give it here."
I hand them my book for them to sign while I direct them on what to write to me and my friends. Once I got them, I slowly backed away from them as I prepared my claw gauntlets for a final blow.
"Thanks again, guys."
"No problem. It was nice meeting you, Lunar," Waz said with a smile.
"Yep. Now put us out of our misery," Fred added. "Good luck on the event."
I nodded. "And good luck on your upcoming match next week."
Both of my opponents give a respectful smile at me right before I swing my claws onto their necks.
And just like that, they're gone from the map. They really are nice guys compared to their competitive fa?ade during a match in a stream. Now that I have gained supporters after defeating them, I have another reason not to lose in the early game of the event. Savior, Ewa, and the rest of the Vipers must have already gotten their kills under their belt, and some players have already discovered the hidden features within this map. I can't put my guard down with only 3 kills under my belt.
In this hunt of betrayal and trust, it's me against everyone.
"Whoa... So that Bear Slayer also defeated those Dungeon Runner Pros?"
A young white-haired man in a robe hummed as he walked past a disappearing corpse in the ruins biome. He smiled as he stared at the notification windows from the event.
"Guess the first event might not be as boring as I thought," he smirks. "Let's see how long he will survive until he shows up. That guy loves a good challenge with a weird guy like him."
Christine Luu, check out the advanced chapters along with bonus content over on my !